“Time to save the city.”

July 19, 2016 12:37 PM

Batman: The Telltale Series [YouTube] [Trailer]
posted by Fizz (23 comments total)

Since I was 5 I feel like I've been consuming Batman media because it's so available and decent quality, even though I don't really like the character. Again, I'll probably wind up spending money on this and wishing it were pretty much any other A or B list DC character.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 12:56 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]

Looks good! Hm, what will the gameplay be like? The only Telltale games I've played were The Walking Dead series, and those were very much about tense, agonizing, game-altering decisions made in a split second. I'd be intrigued if that was brought into the world of Batman where grim moral choices play out. But maybe they will take it in a completely direction.
posted by naju at 1:00 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]

You get the sense that everything there is to say about Batman has been said.
posted by mhoye at 1:11 PM on July 19, 2016

everything there is to say about Batman has been said.

People still write love songs. Sometimes it can be fun to say (or hear) things that have been said before.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 1:21 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]

I'm pretty sure the definitive Batman love song was written by Seal.
posted by roger ackroyd at 1:25 PM on July 19, 2016 [12 favorites]

They're apparently leaning heavily into the Bruce Wayne persona in this game, so you spend half the time playing as Bruce rather than Batman. You can choose whether to go to criminal galas and political fundraisers by hobnobbing as Bruce or skulking in the shadows as Batman. That seems like a pretty neat approach, and it plays to Telltale's strengths, leaving the Bat action to other games. It'd be interesting if you could play the whole game without ever putting on the bat suit, treating it as a diplomacy sim.
posted by painquale at 1:31 PM on July 19, 2016 [10 favorites]

everything there is to say about Batman has been said.

People still write love songs. Sometimes it can be fun to say (or hear) things that have been said before.

Yeah, but then some surprise you. It's been years now, but Grant Morrison's run before the Nu52 stuff was a breath of fresh air for the character and included what could have been the last Batman story ever told, and then Scott Snyder's Court of Owls stuff was just fun and creepy as hell and introduced a whole new thing to the mythology.

To me the problem is with those writers and directors who (like in the BvS movie) cannot help standing up and helpfully announcing HEY, DID YOU GUYS KNOW THAT BATMAN'S PARENTS GOT KILLED IN AN ALLEY AND THAT MADE HIM SAD BUT ALSO A SUPER NINJA BILLIONAIRE? I THINK THERE COULD BE DRAMATIC IMPLICATIONS TO THIS, HERE, LET ME SHOW YOU THE SLO-MO DESTRUCTION OF A PEARL NECKLACE yeah, we get it, man, add something new.
posted by middleclasstool at 1:33 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]

What they need to do, and what I hope this series will do, is get away from the "kickass ninja" emphasis and go back to the "world's greatest detective" stuff. There needs to be a Batman noir story. And no, not Hush.
posted by middleclasstool at 1:34 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]

Yeah, but who did they get to portray Pam and Lana?
posted by Chuffy at 1:43 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]

Dick will remember that.
posted by Pope Guilty at 2:05 PM on July 19, 2016 [5 favorites]

Telltale is great, and after the Zelda-ish Arkham Knight and Lego takes, this is perhaps the last remaining Batman computer game I'd be interested in. After this, I'm willing to declare the idea played out.
posted by JHarris at 2:17 PM on July 19, 2016

Not even a Bat-Men simulator where you run a group protecting Gotham as Old Batman, JHarris? *nudge, nudge*
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 2:26 PM on July 19, 2016

Wait, Batman's parents got SHOT? Jesus... are they okay?
posted by Sing Or Swim at 2:35 PM on July 19, 2016 [17 favorites]

what I hope this series will do, is get away from the "kickass ninja" emphasis and go back to the "world's greatest detective" stuff.

I was going to say that I hope this series will get away from TellTale's "sudden dramatic quicktime event" emphasis and go back to the "adventure puzzle" stuff.

I think we're on the same page.
posted by roystgnr at 2:48 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]

Chuffy, let's hope they do "phrasing"....
posted by pt68 at 2:57 PM on July 19, 2016

Your proposed "Telltale Games Does Archer Doing Batman (Phrasing!)" initiative has my full support.
posted by mhoye at 3:07 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]

This looks generic. Like they sliced off a chunk of Batman aesthetics that I have zero interest in and blended it all together. I definitely love that like there's Vikki Vale, a tease of Catwoman, and then like, fifteen middle aged white guys who all look exactly the same.

And then it seems like it's going to be trawling through the same kind of moral quandary that they've been dragging Batman through since....forever, you'd imagine that there's no more meat on those bones but, whatever.

I was definitely hoping for more of a TAS vibe but it definitely doesn't seem like that. But there'll be five episodes in all, and maybe they'll inject some colour and life into it. But maybe not, because Batman.
posted by Neronomius at 3:11 PM on July 19, 2016

Realize anybody doing Batman anything for like the next ten years is going to be contractually obligated to do a shitty job because Warner won't want to let someone make their flagship cinematic franchise look bad.
posted by Naberius at 3:40 PM on July 19, 2016

Yeah, they're adamant that if anyone is going to do that, it'll be Warner Bros.
posted by tocts at 4:56 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]

It's awesome that there's any focus on Bruce Wayne at all, let alone a heavy one. Superhero games always overlook the secret identity stuff, which is a major chunk of a lot of these characters' drama and tension. It would be awesome if a Hulk game included goals for Banner, and the risk of Banner having to deal with or escape from Hulk sized problems. I'd love a Spider-Man game where Peter had to stealth out of work and social situations and remember where he stashed his costume. Solving a mystery while balancing the identities of Batman, Public Bruce Wayne and Private Bruce Wayne sounds like a game hook that plays to Telltale's strengths. (I assume they know what they're doing but Matches Malone level or GTFO)

everything there is to say about Batman has been said.

At least when it comes to Batgames, I'm all good on the Arkham/Final Fight approach. Batman is good at punching, got it. However, I think a strategy game that encompassed the extended Bat-Family or even the Batman Incorporated setup could be awesome. Train up sidekicks, decide when they're ready to take on solo missions, decide if it's worth the risk of bringing in Azrael or the Huntress in on something or worth the expense of setting up The Outsiders. Work that detective angle so you know which neighborhood will be trouble next or that you've chosen the right supervillain to hit and stay rested so Alfred won't force you to. Set up patrols, research Bat-technology, keep the underworld scared of you without scaring off the cops. I'd play that.

Also: Assassin's Creed, but with Nightwing.
posted by EatTheWeek at 8:26 PM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]

I don't play video games, but reading the descriptions of this one over the last few days (before it was even posted to the Blue) pretty much convinced me that this is a game I need to try. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be available for PC play and since I don't game, I don't have X-box/Nintendo/etc. I guess I'm out of luck.

Oh well, I'm not as disappointed as I might have been after watching the preview/trailer/whatever-they-call-it-in-the-gaming-world. The art seems both harsh and generic, and the narration doesn't seem to lead into any new territory. It just feels like a bunch of clichés and well-worn tropes strung together.

Please let me know when somebody puts EatTheWeak in charge of game design. Those ideas sound so right up my alley, especially with the inclusion of Matches. I swear Bruce as Matches has been a secret crush for me long before I was even old enough to have crushes. Plus any game that pits Bruce against Alfred sounds like just too much fun.
posted by sardonyx at 8:30 AM on July 20, 2016 [1 favorite]

I would go for an entire game playing as Damian Wayne. A cross between the Arkham Games and Black & White, where your actions determine the character's fate as a person. Do you follow your father's example and go through the painful process of unlearning what your mother taught you, or surrender to your rage and narcissism and follow her path to the League? Either path has its advantages and disadvantages.

Game fight mechanics could actually require you to use controller input to stop Damian from fighting, like you get a fight combo going and you've either gotta rein that in at the right moment, or else he keeps going after the guy without your input and cripples or kills him.
posted by middleclasstool at 9:02 AM on July 20, 2016 [2 favorites]

Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be available for PC play

It'll be available for PC at the same time it hits every other platform, I think.
posted by painquale at 2:24 PM on July 20, 2016